Sunday, November 17, 2013

33rd Sunday - Year C

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The beauty of
nature – especially the trees – has been quite stunning this autumn – perhaps
it is the result of the beautiful summer and autumn weather we have had.Walking around the garden these past weeks I
have watched the leaves change to various hues of green, gold, brown, yellow
and red.As I watched their beauty
increase day by day I was drawn to reflect on the example of the tree.At the very moment when its beauty seemed to
be at its zenith, and one would wish it to remain so for ever, I noticed that
the leaves gradually began to fall to the ground.

The trees did
not resist but allowed their beautiful garments of leaves to fall one by one to
the ground – to wither and die in the soil which in turn will nourish the new
growth which will blossom in Spring.If
we look closer we will notice that this new life is already in a tiny bud –
hidden and well wrapped which pushes the leaves off the branch.The tree seems totally detached and is
prepared to stand in its nakedness to face the cold frost and snow, the wind
and rain of winter confident that this new life will spring forth in all its
beauty with the warm rays of Spring sunshine.And so the cycle repeats itself.

Can I learn
something from the example of the tree by being prepared to let go of all that
I cherish and that I cling to whether it be real or illusory and be willing to
expose my naked being to the “Sun of Righteousness” who shines lovingly on me
with “healing in its rays?”Just as the
sap hidden and at work in the tree brings about this rhythm of growth and
transformation – of dying and rising again – so the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of
Jesus, living in us since our Baptism is always at work within us – even in the
midst of all kinds of difficulties, of war and natural disaster, hatred and
deception as described in this morning’s Gospel.

This pattern of
new birth, growth to full flowering and decay is renewed year after year in
nature, and in the process the tree grows in strength and beauty. Does something analogous to this happen in our
spiritual lives if we allow ourselves to be disturbed and guided by God’s Holy
Spirit in our day to day lives, confident that we are in His hands and that
“not a hair of our head will be lost” as He promised us in this morning’s
Gospel.

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Vocation Weekends

Whom do you seek?

We seek God, Who alone gives meaning to our lives. Communion with Christ and with one another in love, through a life of prayer centred on Jesus, the Word of God and on the Eucharist, is the focus of our community life.

Single young women attracted to this way of life are welcome to contact us and we will arrange for a visit or some days in our retreat house - either at weekend or during the week. If a few are interested at same time, and if agreeable to all, we can also arrange for a group to spend a few days together.